Write your own Torah – Vayelech
We are almost at the end of the Torah. Moses’ long period of leadership is closing. The people are receptive to his final message. He commands them, “Now write this song for yourselves and teach it to the Children of Israel” (Deut. 31:9).
His command gives rise to the rule that even if a person has inherited a Sefer Torah from his ancestors, he should write one for himself.
There is a remarkable lesson here, on the eve of Rosh HaShanah, when we make resolutions for the future. Most of us have inherited a Jewish heart, soul and tradition from our parents. We look back and appreciate the example we were set, the ways in which we were trained. We are proud of our ancestry.
But remember the story of the person without lineage who was at a cocktail party where everyone else had aristocratic forebears. “Whose descendant are you?” the guest was asked. “Descendant?” came the quick reply: “I’m not a descendant – I’m an ancestor!”
The Baal Shem explained the opening words of the Amidah, “Blessed are You. Lord our God and God of our fathers”.
“‘God of our fathers'” he said, “that’s the tradition we have inherited. ‘Our God'”, he added, “that’s the God we find for ourselves.”
Whatever Judaism we have inherited, we have to make it our own, enhance it, and make sure it is good enough to hand down to our children.
